It’s a month since I wrote about Mary, aka “TB Baby”. Sadly there is still no reprieve for this deteriorating almost-6-month-old. She remains untreated and dangerously unwell at home. Her weight is perilously stagnant, with no weight gain for over 3 months. She is now developing other symptoms related to her suppressed immune system caused … More Dismay and Disarray
One of the things I have learned about the world since coming to Cambodia, is that there must be millions of people whose lives could be transformed by something as simple as a wheelchair, but who instead are confined to a tiny space by their inability to walk. I have met a surprising number of … More Wheels
One of the people I didn’t mention in my previous blog is a 32yo woman residing on a little wooden canoe on the muddy water with her husband and three children. I would have said four children only last year her three year old fell off the boat and disappeared. The community men spent days … More Ladles and Jellyspoons
He lives in a home with walls constructed of bamboo, elevated on wooden stumps ten ladder steps from the ground. I have cycled or tuk tuked along this track which runs parallel with the Mekong countless times over the past four years. The track passes through many impoverished communities, an interweave of Buddhist and Islamic … More Boat Baby Update
“It’s essential that in life, you see yourself reflected in other peoples’ stories….” (Oprah Winfrey) Oprah is talking about her need, as a little black girl in America, to find people who “kinda looked like me”, at a time when there were no black people in high profile public roles to model for her, who … More Mirroring Me
It is much more difficult in Phnom Penh, to find the impetus to write. My accommodation is a fifth floor apartment overlooking rooftops for as far as the eye can see. This removes me from community life somewhat although I’m slowly starting to recognise the neighbours beyond our apartment block. We recently relocated our office … More Standing On The Outside, Looking In
Joe died in his home three weeks ago, unknown to any health service. His family do not know why he died. Joe also did not know why his legs became weak/deformed as a young child. All he could tell me when we met, was that he got a fever and then stopped walking “during Pol … More Where Love and Hate Collide
New Zealand’s South Island is a panorama of tiers stretching in a lengthwise direction roughly parallel with the coastline. Most prominent, at least initially, are rows of alpine summits piercing into blue skies or disappearing into woolly clouds. Dizzy heights descend into rolling forests and grassy slopes, which in turn meander into a patchwork … More Good Riddance For 2017!
If I had to pick a pivotal milestone during my daily experiences in Cambodia, I would probably pinpoint the boat trip with Mum and Ruth in January 2014. It was my first holiday, three months into my assignment with Medecins sans Frontieres. Since landing in Phnom Penh I’d been bombarded by sights which did not … More Rocks and Hard Places
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